


Love and Loss

by greywolfheir



Category: Pacific Rim (Movies), She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pacific Rim Fusion, Blood, Character Death, F/F, Non-Graphic Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-19
Updated: 2019-04-19
Packaged: 2020-01-16 17:35:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18526330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greywolfheir/pseuds/greywolfheir
Summary: Adora and Catra are finally assigned their first real Jaeger mission when Adora discovers that they were lied to. She runs away but is captured by the Jaeger pilots of Princess Rebellion and soon after, discovers the legendary Jaeger known as She Ra. Life is better but Adora simply can’t get Catra out of her head. And then a giant monster called a kaiju shows up??





	1. Part 1

 “No matter how many times you drift with someone you still have to say I love you”—Guillermo del Toro

* * *

 

“Well done Felix Maus.” Adora smiled as she heard Shadow Weaver’s words over the intercom. “That will be all for the day.”

Adora looked over at Catra who had just the beginnings of a smile on her face as well.

“Oh and Catra?” Shadow Weaver continued. “The Drift was weak this time. Try to focus.”

Catra’s smile faded and she glared. “It’s literally impossible to tell who makes the Drift weak.”

“Adora’s never had any issues in simulation, unlike you. It isn’t hard to figure out.”

Catra slammed the mute button on the intercom and let out a groan of frustration. “Why does she hate me so much?”

“Hey, Catra, it’s ok,” Adora assured her friend. “She’s just being hard on you because you have so much potential.”

Catra rolled her eyes and dismounted from her rig. “Yeah. Whatever.”

As Adora and Catra were about to leave the simulation chamber, Shadow Weaver showed up at the door.

“There’s one more thing, you two,” she said. “You’ve both been promoted to force captains.”

Adora looked at Catra and saw a sparkle in the girl’s eye that matched her own.

“No way! That’s great!” Adora exclaimed.

“Yes,” Shadow Weaver replied, unenthusiastically. “Your first mission is to capture the city of Thaymor. You leave at dawn tomorrow.”

“And we’ll be using Felix Maus? As in, the full Jaeger?” Catra asked.

Shadow Weaver nodded. “Don’t disappoint me.”

 

The next morning, Adora woke up early, excited for her first mission. This, of course, made Catra—who had been planning on sleeping in until the last minute—groan in annoyance.

“Can you please be a peppy nerd somewhere else?” she asked as Adora began whistling.

“This _is_ my room too, you know,” Adora laughed. “Besides, aren’t you excited too?”

“Excited to be called a disappointment by Shadow Weaver for the thousandth time? No.”

“Oh come on, Catra. We’ve got each other. We’re gonna be great.”

Catra rolled her eyes but slowly got up to get ready.

 

“This is incredible!” Adora squealed. They were both thousands of feet in the air, riding in a _real_ Jaeger and Adora had never been more delighted in her life.

“Sure,” Catra said mildly. But they were connected in the drift and Adora knew Catra was equally excited.

The walk to Thaymor alone would have been enough excitement for one day, but getting to fight a real battle? That was almost too much for Adora to handle. They came to the hill that protected Thaymor from view and Adora could barely stop herself from shaking.

“You’re practically screaming in the Drift, Adora,” Catra laughed. “Tone it down.”

“Sorry.”

And then, they reached it—Thaymor. A military outpost on the way to the home base of Bright Moon. If they captured it, it would be one more step towards destroying the SWR for good. As they crested the hill, Adora steeled herself—ready for any attack.

But there was none.

Sure, there was fighting. The Horde’s ground soldiers and tanks were attacking…but no one was attacking back. Adora took in the scene. There were trinkets lining tables in what was clearly a market. There was smoke coming from some buildings. Children were crying out for their parents, and people were…running away.

“I don’t—I don’t understand.”

“What’s to understand?” Catra asked. “We do what we’re supposed to do—attack.”

“But these are…”

“Civillians? Come on, Adora, you and I both know that anyone on SWR’s side is a threat. So can we--”

“ _No_ ,” Adora whispered. “No—Shadow Weaver said this was a military outpost she—she _lied_ to us.”

“And you’re surprised?” Catra asked. “Come _on_ Adora, let’s _go_.”

And suddenly the Jaeger’s steady forward motion became jumpy and staggered. 

“I can’t,” Adora whispered. “Something’s not right, I…”

“Adora, _focus_ ,” Catra said forcefully. “You’re gonna break the Drift connection.”

But Adora wasn’t listening. She shook her head as the Jaeger began to kneel.

“ _Adora!_ ” Catra hissed. “What are you doing?”

“This is too much. I need to get out of here,” Adora murmured. The Jaeger had knelt next to a hill so that its display was level with the crest. Before Catra could stop her, Adora was dismounting from her rig and racing toward the open escape panel toward the hill.

“Adora, wait!” Catra yelled as their Drift connection broke.

Adora raced down the hill. She felt her eyes began to sting and before long, her vision was blurred with her tears. But she didn’t stop.

This ended up being a mistake as, before long, there was a loud rumble in front of her. Another Jaeger had arrived. Adora quickly wiped her tears away and spotted it almost instantly. It was about a hundred yards in front of her—bright pink with accents of yellow and practically sparkling. Adora knew this Jaeger. Princess Rebellion. The president of SWR itself piloted this Jaeger.

Adora began to run off to the side to avoid being crushed by the oncoming robot. Luckily, they hadn’t seen her. But then Adora realized—“Oh no, _Catra_!”

Adora raced back to the kneeling Jaeger, but Catra had already left it as well. No point in staying in a Jaeger you couldn’t pilot alone. But where _was_ she? Adora looked around frantically but saw no sign of her. As she scanned her surroundings though, Adora realized something was happening. The Horde soldiers seemed to be retreating.

Sure, some still tried to fight back against Princess Rebellion, but the majority were heading back into the Whispering Woods. Adora shook the thought out of her mind. She needed to find Catra. She raced around the town, but there was no sign of the girl. There was smoke everywhere and with civilians scattering, Adora had a hard time finding one person.

“Horde soldier, stop!” Came a mechanical voice from above.

Adora froze. When she looked around again, she realized that no one from the Horde was left in the town. She slowly turned around. Princess Rebellion was leaning down with a hand outstretched. Adora tried to turn and run again but it was too late. The Jaeger had her in its grasp.

“You’re coming with us,” said the voice over the Jaeger’s loudspeaker.

Adora knew there was no point in struggling. What could she do against a seven-thousand-ton robot? So she simply sat down in the Jaeger’s hand with a sigh. It was her fault, anyway. If she hadn’t left her own Jaeger, she wouldn’t be in this mess. The only thing that worried Adora was Catra. Had she made it out ok? Was she captured too somehow? Adora didn’t know. But then she realized something else. They weren’t headed in the direction of Bright Moon. Instead, they were headed North, toward some sort of ruins that Adora could barely see in the distance.

“Where are you taking me?” Adora called up to the Jaeger. It didn’t respond.

Eventually, they reached the ruins and the Jaeger finally stopped. It knelt down next to the ruins and unceremoniously dumped Adora onto the roof.

“Hey!” Adora exclaimed. “This isn’t safe! The roof could collapse any moment!”

“You’ll be fine,” boomed the Jaeger. Adora winced. Now that they were away from the battle and in a quiet part of the forest, the Jaeger voice was almost deafening.

Then, a small panel opened and two people walked out on to the roof with her. One was a girl with bright pink hair to match the Jaeger. Adora knew her to be Commander Glimmer. The other was a dark-skinned boy with what looked like a bow and quiver on his back, that would make him Bow. They both seemed to be whispering furiously to each other.

“Why have you brought me here?” Adora called out. The two stopped whispering.

Glimmer cleared her throat. “Did you think we would bring you back to Bright Moon, Horde soldier?”

“We’re here to interrogate you,” Bow said.

“I’m not telling you anything.” Adora crossed her arms

The pair looked at each other and Bow shrugged.

“Then we’ll leave you here on this roof until you change your mind,” the commander said.

Adora frowned. “That’s…it? You’re not gonna torture me?”

The two looked at each other again and Glimmer finally let out an exasperated sigh.

“Look,” Bow said, “capturing you was sort of a last-minute decision. We were headed here to explore the ruins and we ran into a Horde attack so we thought, hey, let’s help out.”

Adora raised an eyebrow. “And why would you want to explore a ruin?”

“There’s supposed to be some really great—”

“Bow!” Glimmer finally shouted. “Are you going to tell her _everything_? This mission is _top secret_.”

Adora snorted as the two began bickering again. The SWR really was as pathetic as Shadow Weaver made it seem. But that thought just reminded Adora why she was here interacting with SWR soldiers in the first place. Shadow Weaver had _lied,_ and they were ordered to attack a simple civilian town with absolutely no defenses. It was just _wrong_ and Adora couldn’t fight for something that wasn’t right.

“Listen,” Adora said immediately silencing the two of them, “I was just following orders back there, ok? I didn’t realize Thaymor was a civilian town. The Horde only attacks military bases.”

Bow and Glimmer looked at each other and immediately began laughing.

“What’s so funny?” Adora growled. “The Horde is better than the SWR. We would _never_ attack without provocation.”

“Oh, God, you’re not joking are you?” Glimmer said curiously. “What do they do in the Horde, brainwash you?”

“Of course not! The Horde is a proud organization ready to stand up against the evil of the SWR.”

“Yep, they brainwash them,” Bow said, crossing his arms.

“I’m not brainwashed!” Adora yelled. “The Horde is doing what’s best for Etheria.”

“And attacking a civilian town is the way to do that, huh?” Glimmer said, raising an eyebrow.

Adora shook her head. “That had to be a mistake. The Horde would never—”

“The Horde attacks civilian towns every other week,” Glimmer growled. “They cut down the Whispering Woods, and they kill without remorse.”

There were tears welling up in Glimmer’s eyes and she turned to Bow, who wrapped his arms around her. Bow looked to Adora. Gently, he said, “Listen, Glimmer and I believe you. Maybe _you_ didn’t know about Thaymor, but someone did. You have to realize that the Horde is evil, and the SWR is simply trying to fight back and achieve peace.”

Adora wanted to fight back, she really did. But there was something nagging at her brain. Shadow Weaver lied. It shouldn’t have been a surprise but it bothered Adora to no end. _How_ could they attack a civilian town unprovoked? What was the sense in that? Unless Bow was right and the Horde really was evil.

Adora shook her head again. “You have to understand. The Horde raised me when I was orphaned as a child. They’re my family.” Adora took a deep breath. “But I won’t fight for something that’s wrong. I can’t. So you may not trust me yet, but I think…I think I want to join the SWR.”

“Wait, just like that?” Bow asked at the same time Glimmer said bluntly, “No.”

“I know, I know,” Adora said, “it’s crazy but…if the Horde lied to me—brainwashed me, I can’t be a part of that. I can’t go back to people who can willingly attack civilians.”

Bow and Glimmer looked at each other before Glimmer said, “You’re still coming back as our prisoner.”

“ _Or,_ ” Bow interjected, “there is a way to prove she’s on our side. Come with us to explore the ruins.”

Glimmer frowned for a minute before acquiescing. “But if you make one move to try and escape, we’re tying you up and _then_ taking you back as our prisoner.”

“I accept,” Adora said.

 

Moments later, they were down below to the front door of the ruins. Adora pushed open the door which lead to a vast hallway tall enough to fit even the biggest Jaeger.

“So…” Adora began, “what exactly are we looking for?”

“These ruins were built by the First Ones,” Bow explained.

“First Ones?” Adora asked.

“The first people to create Jaegers,” Glimmer answered. “You didn’t know about them?”

Adora shook her head.

“Anyway,” Bow said, “there’s supposed to be this really great equipment and tech in here that could improve our own Jaegers.”

Adora nodded. “Makes sense.”

 They reached the end of the hallway, and this time, all three of them had to push open the heavy wooden door. What they saw inside made all of them gasp.

“Whoa,” Bow gasped, “this was just supposed to be Jaeger parts. I didn’t realize it was going to be a fully built Jaeger.”

Indeed, in front of them standing to attention was white and gold Jaeger. It must have been sitting for years in these ruins but besides a little dust, it seemed no worse for wear.

“That’s the biggest Jaeger I’ve ever seen,” Glimmer murmured, and Adora had to agree. This one was easily twice the size of the biggest Jaeger they had back in the Fright Zone.

“Is there such thing as a four-man Jaeger?” Adora asked. “There’s no way two people could pilot that thing.”

“Let’s check it out,” Bow said excitedly. He immediately began to race towards the lift elevator that seemed to lead to the Jaeger’s head.

“Bow, wait!” Glimmer exclaimed, running after him. Adora followed.

They all got on the lift and Bow quickly found a lever that seemed to control the elevator.

“Let’s hope this works,” he said, pulling the lever. Luckily, it did. The ride was shaky, and more than once, Adora was afraid that it would stop or worse—fail and send them all tumbling to their deaths. But it dutifully brought them to the top where there seemed to be a door into the Jaeger’s main console.

They headed inside and all three of them met a familiar sight. There was the display screen at the front, a console for the various controls…and one single rig.

“A one-man Jaeger?” Adora asked.

Before Glimmer or Bow could answer, the display screen lit up with the words WELCOME ADMINISTRATOR. All three of them gasped.

“I guess this is voice activated,” Bow said. “Jaeger, please run a diagnostics check.”

Nothing happened.

Adora shrugged. “Faulty technology, I guess.”

COMMAND NOT RECOGNIZED, the screen read.

“Delayed reaction, then,” Bow said. “Uh, all systems check, please.”

The screen remained blank.

During this exchange, Glimmer had been exploring. She looked at the rig and found an inscription on the headrest. “For the honor of Grayskull,” she read.

“For the honor of Grayskull?” Adora asked.

Immediately, the screen lit up brighter than before with the words JAEGER STARTING UP, READY FOR ADMINISTRATOR and a hum issued from below them.

“What the hell?” Adora asked.

COMMAND NOT RECOGNIZED.

“I didn’t say anyth—wait, I know what’s going on,” Bow said. “Adora! It recognizes your voice!”

“What? How? I’ve never been here before!”

COMMAND NOT RECOGNIZED.

Bow pointed to the display. “Tell it to run a diagnostics check.”

Adora sighed. “Run a diagnostics check, uh, please?”

Immediately the display changed to a blueprint of the Jaeger, highlighting in red areas that needed attention.

“Hmm, everything seems to be functioning ok. Just a few minor issues but they could all be fixed easily. Adora, ask it to find other rigs.”

Adora did and the screen once again read. COMMAND NOT RECOGNIZED.

“No other rigs?” Bow asked. “But _how_? A one-man Jaeger is impossible—and one this size would kill the pilot.”

“No, it isn’t,” Glimmer said, her eyes getting wide. “I’ve heard about this before! My mom told me this legend about a Jaeger that was so strong, no other Jaeger could beat it in battle. And it was said to be piloted by one person—the Chosen One.”

“But that’s just a legend,” Bow said, shaking his head. “Any Jaeger that’s ever been built for one man has left the pilot brain-damaged or dead.”

“Ok but look at this,” Glimmer said, pointing to another inscription just below the display screen. It read: _She Ra_. “That’s the name of the legendary Jaeger!”

“But if this really is that Jaeger, and it’s responding to Adora’s voice…” Bow began.

“Then Adora has to be the Chosen One!” Glimmer clapped her hands together with glee.

Adora scoffed. “No way am I piloting a Jaeger this huge by myself.”

COMMAND NOT RECOGNIZED.

“But don’t you see, Adora?” Glimmer said, visibly getting excited. “This Jaeger was _made_ for you, and you alone. You were born with the ability to pilot it yourself.”

“Ok calm down, Glimmer. Just because it recognizes my voice doesn’t mean anything. It could just be a glitch—I mean, this thing is _how_ old? It can’t be working properly.”

“There’s one way to find out,” Glimmer said.

“No!” Adora and Bow said at the same time.

“Are you kidding, Glimmer? That could _kill_ her,” Bow said.

“I’m not saying she has to walk out of here with it,” Glimmer said with exasperation. “I’m just saying all she has to do is hop in the rig and, you know, try to move an arm or something.”

Bow and Adora looked at each other until Bow finally said, “She does have a point.”

Adora crossed her arms. She looked up at the display screen, then back down at Bow and Glimmer. “Fine, I’ll try it.”

They searched the Jaeger and found a pilot suit. It was a little big on Adora but it was enough to fit her into the rig. Taking a deep breath, Adora commanded, “Initiate Drift sequence.”

DRIFT SEQUENCE INITIATED.

It was odd, drifting by herself. The only memories were her own, so it was easier not to get caught up in them. Faster than ever before, the display screen was reading, DRIFT SUCCESSFUL. WELCOME ADMINISTRATOR ADORA.

“How you feeling?” Bow asked.

“I feel…fine, actually,” Adora admitted. She’d expected to feel overwhelmed by the feeling of a whole Jaeger on her mind, but she didn’t feel any weight at all.

“Can you try to move?” Glimmer asked.

Adora went to move one arm up and it lifted easily—like lifting her own arm. Then she lifted the other. She wiggled the fingers. It was almost _too_ easy. With every other Jaeger, she’d had to put some real effort into it—like she was lifting weights. But here she was in a giant Jaeger and she felt like she could run for hours without too much effort.

“Glimmer,” Adora laughed, “I think you were right. This feels amazing!”

Glimmer looked over at Bow. “Do you think you could pilot this thing back to Bright Moon?”

“Yes,” Adora breathed. “I would _love_ to do that.”

 

The entire time they walked to Bright Moon, Adora reveled in the feeling of how much it didn’t feel like she was piloting a Jaeger. It just felt like she was walking thousands of feet in the air and it was exhilarating. But when Glimmer pointed out Bright Moon, Adora gasped.

It was the most beautiful place she had ever seen. The castle towered over the city, a bright white beacon at the edge of pastel colored houses. There were fountains everywhere and each house almost seemed to glitter.

“We should go around the back way for now,” Glimmer said. “We don’t want anyone freaking out over a strange Jaeger.”

Adora nodded and circled around the city. Adora held out the Jaeger’s arm toward the roof of the castle, allowing her, Glimmer, and Bow to use it as a bridge to get out of the Jaeger.

“Welcome to Bright Moon,” Glimmer said as they headed towards the doors of the castle.

 

Settling into life at the castle wasn’t easy for Adora. The bed was too soft, the food too rich, and everyone gave her a sideways glance even after it was announced that she was the pilot of She Ra. But Adora was determined to fit in. She didn’t have the Horde to go back to, so she would have to settle in here. There was nowhere else to go. But there was one thing Adora couldn’t stop thinking about—Catra.

The last time Adora had seen the girl was when Adora had run off, leaving Catra alone. There was no way she could have piloted Felix Maus by herself, so Adora wasn’t sure how she’d managed to get back to the Fright Zone— _if_ she’d managed to get back to the Fright Zone. Adora desperately wanted to talk to her friend, maybe get her to join her side.

Luckily, she didn’t have to wait for long to discover her friend’s fate.

It was about three days since Adora had joined the SWR when the commanders had their first meeting with the president. Adora, as She Ra’s pilot, was deemed an honorary commander. There was Mermista and Sea Hawk—pilots of Tidal Fury—then Netossa and Spinnerella who piloted Love Abound and of course the pilots of Princess Rebellion, Glimmer and Bow, with Glimmer leading the meeting. ~~~~

“Alright everyone,” Glimmer began, “we’re meeting today because the lands of Plumeria are under attack from the Horde. There’s been no sign of any Jaegers, just on-the-ground fighting, so I suggest we send in only two Jaeger teams. I suggest She Ra, as this will be her first mission, as well as Princess Rebellion. We leave at dawn tomorrow

She began to move on to other things but they were all trivial things that had nothing to do with Adora, who was too excited about her first mission anyway.

 

The next morning, they made it to Plumeria without issue. They spotted the Horde soldiers immediately. Princess Rebellion opened up its wrist compartments and immediately began shooting 96 foot long arrows into their tanks. Adora, who was still figuring out all the perks of She Ra, activated her double chain swords. She was just about to sweep down a gaggle of soldiers when she felt a vibration and looked up.

“Jaeger incoming,” Glimmer said over their intercom. Indeed, a blue and red Jaeger with a tail was headed right towards them.

“I’ll take care of it,” Adora said. She immediately began to run towards it. The Jaeger had just stepped onto the battlefield when She Ra slammed into it. She tried to stab a chain sword directly into its chest but the Jaeger was faster, blocking the blow with one of its hands. Adora moved again, but the Jaeger pushed her off, and that’s when Adora glanced into the cockpit. Inside was a woman Adora didn’t know with white hair and an undercut. Next to her was Catra.

Adora gasped. She contacted the Bright Moon command center immediately as she fended off a blow from the Jaeger.

“LOCCENT!” Adora shouted. “Can you hack the Horde communications and get me in contact with this new Jaeger?”

“Working on it now, She Ra,” she heard a dull voice say.

But the Horde must have been faster because within seconds, Adora heard from her intercom, “Hey Adora.”

“Catra!” Adora exclaimed. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

“Yeah, clearly,” Catra said sarcastically. “What, you were gone one week and you’ve already switched sides?”

“Catra, what the Horde is doing is _evil_. Shadow Weaver lied to us about this mission—what else has she lied to us about? I can’t fight for something that’s wrong.”

“Well, duh, of course Shadow Weaver lied to us,” Catra said. “But we were supposed to have each other’s backs and you left us. So what does that make you?”

“You can join me, Catra,” Adora said. “Fight for the SWR—fight for good!”

There was a pause on the line and Adora knew Catra was thinking about it but then—

“No thanks,” Catra said, and suddenly Adora was smacked on the side by the Jaeger’s tail. Taken by surprise, She Ra stumbled and fell on its knees.

“Catra, please!” Adora exclaimed, catching her breath as she got up. She managed to block another blow from the Jaeger’s fist.

 But Catra wasn’t talking anymore and Adora knew the line had gone dead. Suddenly, Catra’s Jaeger had turned around and started running the other way. Adora looked around and realized that the ground soldiers had retreated as well. The battle was over. The SWR had won.

 

Back at Bright Moon, the SWR council had another meeting to discuss the new Jaeger.

“Our spies tell us that this new Jaeger is named Toxic Avenger,” Glimmer was saying, “and is piloted by two women named Scorpia and—”

“Catra,” Adora muttered glumly.

Glimmer nodded. “Yes and Adora seems to have close ties to Catra, as was well evidenced over the comms today.”

Adora blushed, embarrassed that everyone had heard her conversation with Catra.

The rest of the meeting was spent congratulating Princess Rebellion and She Ra on their success—a first in a while for the SWR. Adora tuned it out, though, her mind back on Catra. She really was glad her friend was alright. She’d been so worried the whole week at Bright Moon but couldn’t think of a way to find out. But there was another problem. Why had Catra turned her down? Was it because she was Drifting with another Horde soldier? Or did she really not care how evil the Horde was?

“Adora!” Glimmer shouted.

Adora cleared her mind of her thoughts. She was now at dinner with Glimmer and Bow, her mind having been preoccupied all evening.

“Bow just asked how you knew Catra,” Glimmer said, gentler this time.

“Oh, uh, we grew up together,” Adora said. “We were really close—best friends.”

Glimmer and Bow nodded, a touch of sadness in their expressions. Bow said, “It must have been really hard to leave her.”

“Yeah,” Adora said, looking down at her food and pushing it around on her plate. “After I left her in Felix Maus, I tried to go back and look for her but I couldn’t find her anywhere. I’m just glad she’s ok.”

“But that was pretty harsh, what she said today,” Bow said.

“Bow!” Glimmer whispered, elbowing him.

“No, he’s right. She was harsh. But then again, I did sort of ditch her to come here so I guess that’s fair.” Adora frowned deeply, feeling pricks at the corners of her eyes. She stood up. “I think I should go to bed.”

That night, Adora tossed and turned, running the conversation with Catra over in her mind, berating herself for leaving her friend, and wondering why she hadn’t joined Adora’s side. Adora didn’t know when she fell asleep but she must have because one minute it was dark, and the next there was sunlight streaming through her window.

 

A couple of days later, Adora was still feeling a little down about Catra, but she was starting to be able to hide it from her new friends. Still, she felt like she had to take a walk to clear her head, so she headed out into the Whispering Woods.

She’d only been walking for a little while when she came across a familiar sight. It was the First Ones ruins where she’d found She Ra. How Adora had gotten there, she had no idea. She couldn’t have given directions to the place if she’d tried. Yet here it was. Adora, of course, immediately went inside.

She wandered around, amazed at all the tech that still somehow managed to work. There was even a room that said “K-Science” that held desiccated specimens that Adora couldn’t identify.

Adora was back in the main chamber where She Ra once stood when she heard something move. Adora immediately whipped around, her fists up, angry that she hadn’t come here with a weapon. But when she saw who was behind her, she immediately lowered her fists.

“Catra?” Adora asked.

“Hey Adora,” Catra said. “What’re you doing here?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. I just took a walk and—wait what are _you_ doing here? How did you find this place?”

Catra shrugged and leaned against a wall. “Entrapta traced your fancy new Jaeger back to this place. Thought I’d check it out.”

“Entrapta?” Adora asked quietly.

Catra gasped in mock surprise. “You don’t know who Entrapta is? She used to be with the SWR. I figured they would have told you, but they didn’t, did they? Do you want to hear a little story about Entrapta?”

Adora crossed her arms, refusing to give Catra the satisfaction of an answer.

“Entrapta used to build tech for the SWR—best of the best, I’ve heard. And one day, she was attacked by the Horde. Her distress beacon went off and everything but did the SWR come to her aid? No. And when she was finally captured and taken to the Fright Zone, was she rescued? Also no. So Entrapta, realizing that the SWR really had ditched her for good, decided to join the Horde.”

“You’re lying,” Adora said, but she knew that wasn’t true. She’d always been able to tell when Catra was lying.

“Oh really?” Catra asked with a sneer. “Or is that just what you want to believe because you can’t accept the fact that your new friends are just as bad as the Horde?”

Adora didn’t know how to respond so she stormed off in a random direction. She didn’t get very far, however, before she felt Catra’s hand on her wrist.

“Come back, Adora,” Catra said softly. Adora wasn’t sure if she actually heard the sadness in Catra’s tone or if she was just imagining it. “Both sides are corrupt, but it doesn’t matter as long as we have each other.”

Adora took a breath before turning around, almost nose to nose with Catra. “Then come with _me_ ,” Adora said. “Despite what Shadow Weaver must be telling you, these people are kind and they truly want to do good. I’m sure what happened to Entrapta was a mistake.”

They held each other’s gaze for a long time, each hoping that the other would break first. In the end, it was Catra whose face contorted into a glare.

“Fine,” she spat. “Looks like you’ve chosen your side. I’ve got my own home to get back to.”

“Catra wait!” Adora called, but it was too late. Catra had already sprinted away. Adora bit her lower lip to keep herself from crying but she couldn’t stop one tear from sliding down her cheek.

 

When Adora arrived back at Bright Moon, the first thing she did was ask Glimmer and Bow if they’d heard about Entrapta. They both seemed confused but Adora must have looked desperate because they immediately resolved to look deeper into the matter.

What they discovered was that Entrapta’s beacon had gone off, but there was a technical issue, and the alarm hadn’t risen at Bright Moon. No one knew about Entrapta’s situation, so no one had come to her aid. It was an honest mistake.

“This is good information to know,” Glimmer said. “But how did you find out about it?”

Adora bit her lip before answering, “Catra told me.”

She proceeded to tell them where she had gone and what had happened between her and Catra.

“Wait, so she tried to convince you that the SWR is evil?” Bow asked.

“I’m sure Shadow Weaver convinced her first,” Adora said defensively.

Glimmer sighed. “I think it’s time you get a history lesson.”

She led the two of them into her room where they all sat comfortably on her bed.

“Do you even know what SWR stands for?” Glimmer asked Adora, who shook her head.

“The Swift Winds of Revolution!” Bow exclaimed dramatically.

“Wait, how is the Horde Rebellion fighting against a revolution?” Adora asked. “They can’t both be uprisings.”

“That’s why you need to know these things, Adora,” Glimmer said. “You see, after the First Ones disappeared, Etheria was united and peaceful, separated into lands where the rulers all had Jaegers. But the lower class were unable to fight back against what were slowly becoming cruel leaders. So a rogue group of scrappers banded together to create the Horde Rebellion. They grew stronger and stronger, overthrowing kingdom after kingdom until eventually they became too greedy for land and power, and the people who were on their side before defected. These people banded together as well and named themselves the Swift Winds of Revolution or SWR for short. They fought the Horde until all they had was the Fright Zone—”

“And now we’ve caught up to the present!” Bow finished.

“You see,” Glimmer said, “all the Horde wants is power. SWR wants to bring Etheria back to the peaceful world it once was.”

“I get it,” Adora said. She felt like she understood but it was a lot to absorb.

“I know you and Catra were close, Adora,” Glimmer said gently, placing a hand on Adora’s shoulder, “and if you left to go back to the Horde, we wouldn’t blame you. But whatever you decide, you need to know who and what you’re fighting for.”

Adora felt a tear roll down her cheek and she looked away. “I—I can’t go back to the Horde. But Catra and I…well, it doesn’t matter anymore because she’s not joining the SWR.”

“Of course it matters,” Glimmer insisted. “And if Catra ever changes sides, we’ll be happy to welcome her here.”

Adora nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

“Can I say one thing though?” Bow said. “We’re happy to have you as a friend, Adora.”

Adora smiled and all three of them hugged.

 

It was only a couple days later when Adora was woken up in the middle of the night by Glimmer. It was an emergency meeting of the council but the pilots of Tidal Fury were missing. It didn’t take Adora long to find out why.

“Seaworthy is under attack,” Glimmer explained. “The Horde has attacked with three of their Jaegers— Quiet Wyvern, Fox Romeo, and, of course, Toxic Avenger.”

Adora furrowed her eyebrows at the mention of Catra’s Jaeger but she avoided Glimmer and Bow’s eyes.

“We’ll need all hands on deck for this one and we need to move quickly. Tidal Fury is already in Seaworthy defending as best they can. Princess Rebellion, She Ra, and Love Abound will all be deployed.” Glimmer paused to look every pilot in the eye. “Good luck.”

 

When the SWR arrived at Seaworthy, they immediately spotted the three Horde Jaegers as well as the ground troops. Tidal Fury was certainly fighting a losing battle but they were defending as best they could against the attacks on the Sea Gate. Adora immediately ran to their aid, doing everything she could to avoid looking at Toxic Avenger. Instead, she swept aside the ground troops so that Tidal Fury could focus on [Insert Jager name here].

But as she was helping out, Adora spotted Toxic Avenger out of the corner of her eye, running the other way. Princess Rebellion must have noticed too, because almost immediately Glimmer came over the intercom saying, “She Ra, do _not_ engage Toxic Avenger. That’s an order.”

 “But what are they _doing?_ ” Adora asked, not letting the Jaeger out of her sight. Soon, though it would be behind the town of Seaworthy.

“We need you here, She Ra,” Glimmer commanded. “It doesn’t matter.”

Adora groaned with indecision. She didn’t want to go against Glimmer’s orders but she _had_ to know what was going on with Toxic Avenger. Eventually, she made up her mind.

“I’m sorry Glimmer,” she said. “They’re up to something and I know it. I’m going after them.”

“She Ra, as your commander, I _order_ you to—”

But Adora switched off her intercom and began running in Toxic Avenger’s direction.

It was a good thing too. The Jaeger had found a back way into Seaworthy and by the time Adora reached it, it had already begun to smash its way in—to the terror of innocent civilians.

“Toxic Avenger!” Adora called out over her loudspeaker. “Stop this immediately.”

The Jaeger turned around and immediately began advancing on Adora, who engaged her twin chain swords. The battle was hard fought. She Ra was larger and faster but Toxic Avenger had the advantage of an extra limb that Adora had a hard time keeping an eye on, as well as razor sharp claws on the ends of its fingers. But just like before, just when Adora was about to have an upper hand on Catra and Scorpia, the Jaeger suddenly stopped fighting and ran off. The rest of the Jaegers were retreating as well, so Adora met back with the SWR. The first thing she saw was that Love Abound was down, lying face-down in the water.

“Oh no,” Adora whispered, turning her intercom back on. “Princess Rebellion, is Love Abound alright?”

“Yes, Netossa and Spinnerella are with us,” Glimmer said, fury evident in her tone. “No thanks to you.”

“Glimmer—” Adora heard Bow say.

“Toxic Avenger was breaking in the back way,” Adora argued. “If I hadn’t—”

“I don’t want to hear it!” Glimmer interrupted. “You disobeyed a direct order from your president and we suffered losses because of it. We’ll discuss your punishment later.”

Adora bit back her retort. She knew Glimmer was right. She’d messed up.

 

The next morning, Adora’s breakfast with Bow and Glimmer began as a silent affair, tension in the air. Adora’s punishment was light—She Ra was simply grounded for a week—but Adora avoided Glimmer’s gaze as they ate. Eventually, Glimmer spoke.

“You want to tell me why you thought disobeying a direct order was a good idea yesterday?” she asked coldly.

Adora shrugged. “I told you, I thought Catra and Scorpia were up to something and they were.”

“Can I get a waffle?” Bow asked.

Glimmer slammed her hand down on the table. “You have to stop ignoring your feelings for Catra!”

“There’s nothing to talk about!” Adora shouted back.

“You left our troops defenseless in the heat of battle to chase after her on a whim,” Glimmer argued. “I should ground you permanently if you aren’t going to follow orders.”

“You wouldn’t.” There was a warning in Adora’s tone

“If you can’t focus when Catra’s around then what good are you?”

Adora stood up so fast she knocked over her chair. “Fine! You want to know about my feelings for Catra? _I love her!_ I love her more than life and if anything happened to her, I don’t know what I’ll do and that scares me.” Tears were streaming down Adora’s face now. “There. Are you happy?”

Before Glimmer could respond, Adora was already marching away, roughly shoving the tears away from her eyes.

“Can I _please_ get a waffle?” Bow whispered.

 

Adora locked herself in her room all day, avoiding Bow and Glimmer. When it finally came time for bed, Adora could only think about what she’d said about Catra and how she and Glimmer had gotten into their first fight. She ended up crying herself to sleep.

At one point in the middle of the night, Adora woke with a start. She thought she’d heard something but everything was quiet. Then, as she began to get out of bed and investigate, she saw a figure in the window.

“Hey Adora.”

Adora gasped. “Catra. What are you doing here?”

Expecting to see Catra’s typical smirk, Adora was surprised when, as Catra moved closer, the girl seemed to have a serious expression on her face. Catra was on the bed before Adora could repeat her question and eventually she spoke up.

“I’m here to tell you that whatever happens tonight, I want you to know that I…I didn’t want this to happen.”

“What’s going on?” Adora asked immediately, but Catra ignored her.

“And there’s something else.” Suddenly Catra’s eyes were burning into Adora’s. “I miss you, Adora.”

“Catra, I miss you so much, but you have to tell me what’s going on.”

Catra was silent and Adora realized that in her attempt to emphasize her point, she’d leaned forward so much that their noses were almost touching. Catra suddenly looked down at Adora’s lips and Adora’s heart began racing. Before she knew it, Catra was leaning in, closing the space between them.

Almost as soon as Catra’s lips were on hers, Adora let out a moan of pleasure. God, how long—how _long_ had she craved this exact moment? And here it was, Catra in her room in the dead of night, _kissing_ her. Catra gently used her lips to press Adora’s open and Adora responded eagerly, shuddering at the warm feeling of their tongues sliding against each other’s. Far too soon for Adora’s liking, they needed to come up for air, Catra slowly pulling away.

“I shouldn’t have done that,” Catra muttered.

“I disagree,” Adora replied, leaning forward to initiate another kiss. But Catra put a hand on her chest, blocking the movement.

“Catra—”

“I need to go,” Catra said bluntly. She shifted off the bed and headed towards the window.

“Catra, wait!” Adora exclaimed, but the girl was already gone.

Adora hugged her legs, trying and failing to stop herself from smiling, replaying the kiss over and over in her mind. It was so much better than she could have ever imagined. But what had Catra said about being sorry for whatever happened? Adora’s heart began racing even more with the thought.

“Adora!” Glimmer burst into Adora’s room and the bad feeling got worse. “Have you seen Bow? I woke up with this…weird feeling that he was in danger and when I went to check on him he was gone.”

“Oh no,” Adora whispered.

“Wait, do you know something about this?” Glimmer asked.

“I—well, not exactly, er…Catra was just here,” Adora stammered out.

Glimmer gasped. “And you didn’t tell anyone?”

“Well, I was going to, but she just left!” Adora said defensively.

Glimmer groaned. “Oh no this is bad. If Catra was here, that means something bad probably happened to Bow.” Glimmer gasped again. “What if they kidnapped him?”

Adora wanted to argue but it was too likely. “It’s alright, Glimmer, we can get him back.”

“I’ll go wake everyone up,” Glimmer said. “Then we can make a plan to rescue him—maybe even get him back before they take him to the Fright Zone.”

Glimmer left and guilt washed over Adora. Once again, she’d been distracted by Catra.

 

“Alright everyone we need complete stealth for this mission,” Glimmer began. “We’ll be in and out before they even know what happened. Adora knows how to access records to find out exactly where Bow was taken. Everyone else will help with having her back while she’s doing that, and after, will help with extraction. Understood?”

Everyone nodded.

“Good. Then we’re all set. Let’s go get Bow back.”

 

They slipped into the Horde facility easily enough. Glimmer brought her sai, and Adora had a dagger and a small pistol. The entrance they picked was lightly guarded thanks to Adora’s knowledge. But they encountered a problem when Adora tried to access the prisoner files.

“He’s not in any of the cells,” Adora said, her voice strained. “At least not according to the records.”

“Could there have been a mistake?” Glimmer asked.

Adora shook her head. “I doubt it. He could be anywhere.” But then she paused and frowned. “But I think I have an idea.”

“Lead the way,” Glimmer said.

Adora led them toward the Black Garnet chamber where Shadow Weaver conducted her experiments. Unfortunately, their presence must have been detected because when they opened the door, Lonnie, Kyle, Rogelio, and Shadow Weaver were all standing at the ready. Behind them, Bow was chained to a wall. Adora wondered briefly where Catra was.

“Bow!” Glimmer yelled. Then, to the Horde members, “Give him back!”

“Gladly,” Shadow Weaver said. “So long as you make a trade. Adora for this boy.”

Glimmer and Adora traded looks.

“Not happening,” Glimmer said firmly.

“Then we shall take them both,” Shadow Weaver said, lifting a hand in a command to attack. The closest to Adora was Kyle, who moved to attack but Adora easily sent him flying backwards with a quick boot to the chest. Then came Rogelio, who was a much more difficult opponent, but Adora fought well all the same. Just as she pinned Rogelio to the ground, she heard Shadow Weaver yell out, “STOP!”

Everyone froze and they all saw, in the center of the room, Shadow Weaver with her hands on Bow’s throat, armed with claws similar to Catra’s own.

“That’s enough. You will hand over Adora or this boy dies,” Shadow Weaver said calmly.

“Let him go Shadow Weaver,” Adora said, reaching for her pistol as slowly as she could. “He’s innocent.”

Shadow Weaver scoffed. “Any member of the SWR is not innocent. But your friends can have him easily enough. All you have to do is turn yourself in to the Horde.”

“So that I can do what, exactly?” Adora scoffed back. “Are you going to just erase every bad memory I have of the Horde until I become your slave again.”

“Something like that,” Shadow Weaver said with a smile.

Adora shook her head, quickly whipping her pistol out of its holster. “Not gonna happen.”

And then it all happened in slow motion. Adora pulled the trigger. She aimed true, she knew, and it would go straight through Shadow Weaver’s forehead. But at the same time, Shadow Weaver raked her razor-sharp claws across Bow’s throat. Both dropped to the floor the instant Adora’s bullet went through Shadow Weaver’s head.

“BOW, NO!” Glimmer shouted, sliding toward him and pressing her hands to the wounds. Adora could see tears already streaming down the girl’s cheeks.

“Glimmer,” Adora gasped. She was frozen with her hand still in the air, holding her gun. “ _Bow_.”

“He’s already unconscious!” Glimmer exclaimed. “We have to do something—Adora!”

Adora finally lowered her gun, shaking her head. With a flat whisper, she said, “There’s nothing we can do.”

“He can’t—he can’t _die_ ," Glimmer sobbed. “Not like this.”

Adora knelt down and put a hand on Glimmer’s shoulder. Bow had already stopped breathing.

“He’s gone, Glimmer,” she said, feeling her own tears slide down her cheeks. “I’m so sorry.”

 

“We have to avenge him,” Glimmer stated when they all arrived back at Bright Moon. “It’s the least we can do.”

“I agree,” Adora said, “but how?”

Glimmer paused and looked around at everyone’s downcast faces. They all loved Bow and she knew they would have done anything to save him. “It’s time we go on the offensive. Instead of waiting for a Horde attack, we attack first.”

“There’s a Horde settlement not far from Seaworthy,” Mermista spoke up. “It wouldn’t be too hard to take them down with all of us together.”

“Perfect,” Glimmer said. “We’ll get some rest and attack tomorrow.”

 

The next day, they disembarked for Seaworthy in their Jaegers. Glimmer was co-piloting with Netossa, as they were the most Drift-compatible and Love Abounds was leading the charge. It was a semi-surprise attack. No one could miss Jaegers coming from a mile away but it was hard to prepare against an unexpected Jaeger attack.

To Adora’s surprise, the first Jeager dropping into battle was Toxic Avenger. It waded into the water to meet them.

“I’ve got them,” Adora said immediately. “You attack the rest of the base.”

Surprisingly, Glimmer agreed, and Adora went to face off against Catra and Scorpia.

“Hey Adora,” came a familiar voice over Adora's intercom.

“Catra,” Adora growled.

“Ooh a little touchy are we?”

“You killed my friend,” Adora stated flatly.

“Ah, you forget, I wasn't there for that,” Catra noted. “But I have to say thank you. With Shadow Weaver out of the way, _I'm_ second-in-command. But condolences for your friend or whatever.”

Adora growled again and threw the first punch, and Toxic Avenger easily blocked it, countering with a blow across She-Ra's faceplate.

“You're better than this, Catra,” Adora said as she landed a punch to Toxic Avenger's side.

“But dont you see, Adora?” Toxic Avenger lashed out with its tail and knocked She-Ra off its feet. “I'm really not.”

There was a sudden disturbance that knocked Toxic Avenger into the water beside She Ra. When both Jaegers finally got up, they noticed something in the distance that seemed to be an object swimming just under the surface. Whatever it was, it was _big_.

Then, as it got closer the thing rose up out of the water revealing itself to be a huge beast, blue with green luminescent spots all over its body. It was hideous, with large teeth coming out of an elongated snout and thick barbs attached to its arms.

Adora heard herself and Catra simultaneously say, “What the fuck is _that_?!”


	2. Part 2

The monster in front of them growled and began bounding towards both jaegers.

“Uh, Catra?” Adora said with more than a little panic in her voice. “I think we need to run.”

But Toxic Avenger seemed to be squaring up for a fight.

“Catra!” Adora yelled.

“I can handle it!” Catra yelled back.

Adora took a calming breath, steeled herself, then turned and faced the creature. “Then I'm staying with you.”

There was no reply on the other end, but by then they'd run out of time for talking. The monster had reached them, and it immediately leaped on Toxic Avenger.

Adora deployed the chain sword and jumped on the creature's back. She stabbed it right where she thought the spine should be and the creature reared up and howled. In doing so, it knocked She Ra off its back completely. But instead of retaliating, it stayed on Toxic Avenger, digging with its enormous claws at the Jaeger's faceplate. Just as She Ra had gotten back up, she saw as the monster's claws finally penetrated and ripped a huge chunk out of the Jaeger's head.

“Catra!” Adora yelled, but there was only static on the line.

She Ra raced toward the monster, which was still working to rip Toxic Avenger apart. She took a running jump and sliced at the creature's neck. To Adora's surprise, the blade went cleanly through and she turned away in disgust as the monster's head fell from its body.

As she looked away, Adora noticed the mangled remains of Toxic Avenger and gasped. Were the pilots alive?

Adora searched inside and around the Jager before she spotted them a few yards away. Scorpia was in the water waving frantically but Catra--Catra didn't seem to be moving.

Adora stepped over and picked them both up. She immediately headed toward Seaworthy and placed them as close to the city as she could. Then she exited her Jaeger and climbed to the ground. Scorpia had laid Catra on the ground, and it wasn't a pretty sight. There was blood everywhere. Adora didn't know where it was coming from, she just knew there was a lot of it. When she looked back up at Scorpia, her eyes were stinging.

“I'll stay with her,” Adora choked out. “Go get a medic.”

“Are you sure that's a good--?” Scorpia began

“Just _go!_ ”

Scorpia raised her hands and turned around. As soon as she was far enough away, Adora dropped to Catra's side sobbing.

“Please don't be dead,” Adora begged between sobs. “I need you to be alive. I…I love you.”

A few seconds later, Adora heard a noise from Catra, something equating to a cough. She gasped and inched closer, putting a hand on Catra's cheek.

“Catra?”

“H...ungh...Hey Adora,” Catra coughed out.

“Catra! How do you feel?”

“Like I got run over by a tank.” Catra lifted her head and looked at all the blood on herself. “Oh maybe I did.”

“You're going to be alright,” Adora assured her. “Scorpia is getting a medic.”

“Okay, that's great.” Catra's words were slurred now. “I'm gonna pass out again.”

Before Adora could protest, Catra's eyes rolled to the back of her head and she went limp. She was still breathing though, so Adora tried not to panic.

It wasn't long before Scorpia and the medics came back, and after that, it was simply a long amount of waiting while they fixed her up in the Seaworthy hospital. When the medics came by to say that Catra was finally stable enough to be transported, things went south.

“Great! I'll take her back to the Fright Zone then,” Scorpia said immediately.

“That's not gonna happen,” Adora said flatly.

“Uh, where else would she go?” Scorpia laughed. “With you?”

“That's exactly what's going to happen.” Adora's tone was getting darker.

“I don't think so,” Scorpia argued. “She hates Bright Moon. Like, _hates_ it.”

Without thinking, Adora pulled her pistol out of its holster and pointed it at Scorpia, saying, “That wasn't a request.”

Scorpia raised her hands, her eyes wide. She chuckled a little as she said, “Whoa, uh, okay there, Catra's going to Bright Moon, understood.”

Adora lowered the pistol. “Glad we came to this understanding.”

 

It was three days before Catra woke up. Adora wanted to stay with her the whole time but there were urgent matters to take care of—namely, the giant monster that attacked them.

Within hours of Adora arriving back at Bright Moon with Catra, the SWR was called into a meeting. There was a scientist who had arrived named Perfuma who seemed to have an idea of what the monster was.

“Long ago, in the time of the First Ones, there were enormous creatures called kaiju that wreaked havoc on all of Etheria,” she said. “There are those of us who believe that these kaiju were sent by gods to punish us for our evil acts upon our planet. Nevertheless, the reason the First Ones created Jaegers in the first place is to fight these kaiju. This won’t be the only one.”

“But I don’t understand,” Glimmer said. “How did they get here? And why are they back?”

Perfuma looked nervous. “We aren’t exactly sure. All that we’re left with are kaiju skeletons scattered across the coast. It’s believed that the kaiju come from deep beneath the Growling Sea, and there is discussion of a portal between dimensions but…” Perfuma shook her head. “The kaiju haven’t been here in thousands of years.”

Glimmer made a small dissatisfied grunt. “Well okay then you’re the scientist. What do you know about kaiju biology? Do they have weaknesses?”

Perfuma bit her lip and Glimmer held up a hand, saying “Let me guess—you don’t know that either?”

Perfuma looked down at the ground, flushing. But after a moment she lifted her head. “I can give you as much information as we have, and we would be delighted to study the specimen that your Jaegers killed recently.

Glimmer sighed and nodded. “That will have to do. Thank you Perfuma.”

 

Thankfully, Adora was in the room when Catra woke up. Adora had been about to leave to go to bed when she heard a change in Catra’s breathing pattern. Her head shot up and she watched as Catra’s eyes fluttered open.

“Why is the ceiling pink?” Catra groaned out.

“Catra!” Adora exclaimed, grabbing her friend’s hand “I’m so glad you’re awake.”

Catra, though, was too distracted by her strange surroundings. “Why…is _everything_ pink? Where am I?”

Adora bit her lip. “You’re in Bright Moon.”

“I’m _what?_ ” Catra tried to sit up but fell immediately back down with a screech of pain. “What the hell happened to me?”

“What’s the last thing you remember?”

“Um, I remember getting assigned to Seaworthy. I remember fighting you and…no that had to be a dream.”

Adora shook her head. “Trust me, it wasn’t a dream. That thing—a kaiju—it attacked us and almost killed you. I took you back here to get you healed.”

Catra was silent for a moment, processing the new information. Finally, she asked, “Why would you do that? After everything that’s happened…why would you save me?”

“Catra,” Adora sighed. “I don’t care about everything that happened. You’re still my best friend and I’d never want to lose you.”

Catra was silent again for another moment before looking away and saying in a strained voice, “You should have taken me back to the Fright Zone.”

Adora snorted. “You’re welcome.”

“I mean it, Adora,” Catra said, finally looking back. “Hordak will have soldiers headed here any day now.”

“We can handle them,” Adora insisted. When Catra didn’t look reassured, she added. “Look, when you’re fully healed you can head back to the Fright Zone yourself, but _please_ Catra, let yourself heal. Get some rest.”

Catra sighed but she nodded. Then she frowned. “What about this kaiju thing? Is there going to be another one?”

“We’re working on it,” Adora said. “I’ll keep you in the loop. For now though, let me go find some food.”

 

It was a week before they heard anything back from Perfuma, and in that time, Catra had improved to the point where she was able to take short walks around her room. Still, Adora thought it was important that she listen in to the SWR meeting with Perfuma and—much to Catra’s distaste—took her to the meeting in a wheelchair. Glimmer also had issues with Catra attending but when Adora pointed out this wasn’t about sides, it was an Etheria problem, she grumbled in agreement.

“Now,” Perfuma was saying, pointing to one of the many confusing graphs on her presentation board, “the kaiju you killed last week definitely has a different bone structure to the ancient specimens we have, but when we analyzed the cells, it turns out that the kaiju have nearly identical DNA. Does anyone know what that means?”

Everyone shook their heads.

“I means these kaiju are clones. Which also means they had to have been created by someone—or some _thing_. And we believe these beings come from another planet, if not another dimension. This is because when we analyze the _structure_ of the living cells, we notice that these beings aren’t carbon-based like we are. They’re nitrogen-based.”

Adora looked around before saying, “And, uh, that means…?”

“That _means_ , they don’t use the same chemical reactions we do to survive. They breathe CO2 like plants but they emit nitrogen. They wouldn’t survive on this planet for longer than a few days.”

“Then why are they here?” Mermista asked.

 “That we can’t know for sure,” Perfuma said. “But we can speculate. There are ancient writings from the First Ones that detail some aspects of the former kaiju attacks but nothing concrete and we only have a few pages from the journal.”

Perfuma pointed to a scanned document. It was clearly a page from this journal but at the top of the page was a symbol. It looked like an eagle with its wings raised and a star above its head.

Catra nudged Adora and said, “Hey remember when we snuck into Hordak’s office when we were kids and we found that weird book but we couldn’t read yet?”

Adora nodded as everyone turned their eyes in their direction.

“Didn’t it have that same symbol on the cover?”

Adora glanced at the symbol again. “I don’t know…maybe?”

“I’m pretty sure it was that exact same symbol,” Catra insisted. She pointed at the signature at the bottom of the page that Perfuma had where there was a signature. “And I’m pretty sure it had that signature on the first page.”

Perfuma’s eyes got wide. “You’re certain of this?”

“Uh, yeah,” Catra said, suddenly looking uncomfortable. “Why?”

“This is the signature of Newt Geizler. He and his partner Hermann Gottlieb are the two scientists who helped stop the kaiju attacks. If what you’re saying is true, then that journal could be the key to stopping any more kaiju attacks from happening.”

“Then lets go get that journal,” Catra said with a shrug.

“I agree,” Glimmer said. “Thank you, Perfuma for all your information. Our mission now is to get that journal out of the Fright Zone. I’ll brief you with more details as they become available. For now, everyone is dismissed.”

 

The next day, Adora helped Catra with getting around the room. Catra had steadily been improving and she seemed like she’d soon be walking on her own without any help. After a while, they took a break, sitting on the window seat. Catra had been oddly quiet all day and now she seemed troubled.

“What’s on your mind?” Adora asked gently.

“I just…I don’t understand why you keep helping me,” Catra said, avoiding Adora’s gaze. “I mean, the Horde killed your friend. Glimmer hates my guts but you—you’re in here all the time.”

“The Horde did that, not you,” Adora said. “Glimmer just sees the Horde as one entity.”

“Yeah but…but I betrayed you—more than once. I mean I didn’t hesitate to fight you.”

Adora looked down at her feet. “I mean, yeah, but if there’s anything I’ve learned since coming to Bright Moon, it’s that the Horde has a sort of power over people under its control. It brainwashes people.”

“You think I’m brainwashed?” Catra asked, slightly offended.

“Well, I was,” Adora said with a shrug. “At the very least, they’re liars.”

“I can’t argue with that,” Catra said.

They were quiet for a long moment.

“Look,” Adora said, putting her hand on Catra’s, “I don’t care what you’ve done for the Horde. I know the _real_ Catra, the one I grew up with before the Horde got to you.”

Catra frowned and looked away. “And what if she’s gone?”

“She’s not,” Adora said, firmly enough that Catra finally met her gaze. Adora’s hand was still on Catra’s.

“Do you remember,” Catra murmured, inching towards Adora, whose heart began racing, “what happened the last time we saw each other? Before the kaiju attack?”

Adora’s eyes unconsciously flicked down to Catra’s lips, then back up. “Yes.”

“Would you like to do it again?” Catra asked with a playful smile. Their noses were almost touching now.

“Yes,” Adora breathed. Slowly, she closed the gap between them, capturing Catra’s lips in her own.

If their last kiss had been a desperate, messy disaster, this one was slow, passionate, and measured. Adora put her hand on Catra’s shoulder, then slowly moved it up her neck and into her hair. Catra put an arm around Adora’s waist and pulled her closer.

“ADORA! CATRA!” Both of them jumped at the sudden knock on the door, breaking apart. “SWR meeting!”

“Coming!” Adora called back, knowing her voice would sound odd but not caring in the least.

 

Their mission was simple—get into Hordak’s office, grab the journal, and get out. Catra was still too weak to join them but Adora, Glimmer, and Mermista all had experience breaking into the Fright Zone—even if it hadn’t been a total success. And this time, their plan was a lot more risky.

Instead of sneaking in, She Ra and Tidal Fury would attack the Fright Zone directly. This would create a distraction so that Glimmer would be able to go in undetected, grab the journal and get out.

But things changed. Glimmer had gotten inside the Fright Zone and was waiting on Tidal Fury and She Ra when an alarm suddenly rang out all across the Fright Zone.

“I’ve never heard that alarm before,” Adora said over the comms.

“Neither have I,” Catra said from LOCCENT. “But I know what it means—an attack from the sea.”

Adora gasped. “Another kaiju?!”

She turned around towards the ocean, and sure enough, a giant shape started rising from the water.

Glimmer suddenly came over the comms, “That’s as good a distraction as any. All Jaegers stand down. I’ll grab that journal.”

“But…shouldn’t we help them?” Adora asked. “There’s no way they’ll be ready in time to fight and we don’t know what these things can do.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Glimmer responded. “A kaiju doing all our work for us?”

Catra scoffed. “See, Adora, it doesn’t matter what side you’re on, it’s just about winning.”

But Adora was shaking her head. “I’m not just going to stand by and watch this thing kill everyone in the Fright Zone.”

Adora heard a sigh over the comms but she wasn’t sure who it came from. Besides, she was too busy jogging over to the giant mass still making its way towards land. Deploying her chain sword, Adora took a running jump and stabbed down towards the kaiju, striking it in its shoulder. The monster roared and slashed at She Ra, knocking her into the water.

Before the Jaeger could get up, though, the kaiju was hit from behind with another blow from Tidal Fury, who had apparently come to join the fight. Adora grinned as she readied her second sword. She charged forward, slashing at whatever kaiju part happened to be in front of her.

And then something incredible happened. Quiet Wyvern started heading their way. Adora braced for an attack on both sides, but when the Jaeger arrived, it immediately started attacking the kaiju. The three Jaegers took down the kaiju as a team, and when it was finally down, Quiet Wyvern simply walked back to its post at the Fright Zone.

“Uh, you guys all saw that right?” Mermista asked.

“They…helped us,” Adora said in answer.

“It was probably just to protect the Fright Zone,” Catra said in a muffled tone, clearly eating something at the console.

Adora knew Catra was probably right but she couldn’t get it out of her head that something significant had just happened.

“I got the journal and I’m leaving now,” Glimmer reported. “No issues on my end, though I’m sure that kaiju helped. Everyone report back to Bright Moon. We’ll have Perfuma look over this journal and see what it says.”

 

Perfuma came into the SWR meeting with a grim look on her face.

“Everything ok?” Adora asked.

“What I found…” Perfuma began, “well, it’s incredible, really, but also—well, _awful._ ”

“Does it tell us how to stop the kaiju from coming?” Glimmer asked.

Perfuma shook her head. “Maybe. Well, at least we can stop their creators from knowing so much about us.”

“Hold up, what exactly does _that_ mean?” Mermista asked.

Perfuma took a long, slow breath. “Okay, let me try again. As it turns out, kaiju are indeed created by other beings that Dr. Geizler calls Precursors. These Precursors have a mental link to the kaiju that helps them to control the kaiju as well as to see through their eyes. Newton Geizler was able to connect himself to this mental link by using similar technology to our Jaegers.”

“That’s good though right?” Adora asked.

“It would have been…” Perfuma took another steadying breath. “But the Precursors overpowered his brain. They began controlling him like the kaiju, and he was able to create multiple portals—he calls them Breaches—all over the Growling Sea, allowing multiple kaiju into the world at once.”

Everyone was silent for a moment.

“How have we never heard of this?” Glimmer asked.

“His former partner, Hermann Gottlieb, reversed the creation of these Breaches and managed to stop the kaiju from coming,” Perfuma explained.

“That’s a pretty rough story, but if it’s all in the past, why do you look so scared?” Adora asked.

“This journal details the exact way to establish a mental link with the kaiju, and through them the Precursors,” Perfuma answered. “And I’ve seen notes in here, presumably in Hordak’s handwriting, that seem to be plans to recreate this technology.”

“Oh no,” Adora gasped. “And with Entrapta on their side, they should have no problem creating that technology. Do you think Hordak created the Breach too?”

Perfuma nodded.

“So how do we destroy the Breach?” Glimmer asked.

Perfuma shook her head. “It doesn’t say for sure, but I have a theory that if we destroy Hordak’s connection to the Precursors, they’ll at least have a harder time sending kaiju toward populated areas.”

“So basically we kill Hordak,” Catra said simply.

“Yes,” Perfuma said. “And perhaps if we capture Entrapta we can find a way to close the Breach as well.”

“I’ll do it,” Catra said immediately.

Adora whipped around to face Catra. “Catra what are you talking about? You just barely started walking on your own.”

“Then we can wait till I’m stronger,” Catra countered. “Look, I’m his second in command, I can get the closest to him, and besides, I hated that guy anyway.”

Adora shook her head but it was Glimmer who spoke.

“That actually makes sense,” she said softly, raising her hands in defense when Adora shot her a scathing look.

“And what if a kaiju attacks while we’re waiting?” Adora argued.

Perfuma was shaking her head though. “According to the journal, the kaiju can only arrive as fast as the Precursors can make them, which means we have a few weeks.”

Adora threw up her hands. “Well, I’m coming with you.”

“Adora—” Catra began.

“No, I mean it. You can kill Hordak, fine, but I’m going to find Entrapta and convince her to close the Breach.” Adora looked around at everyone in the room, daring them to argue. “Alright?”

No one said anything.

“Alright, then it’s settled.”

 

It was only a few days later when Adora walked into Catra’s room to find her struggling to do pushups.

“You’re really serious about this, aren’t you?” Adora asked forlornly.

“I said I was,” Catra huffed out, not stopping her routine.

Adora sighed and sat on the bed. “Are you sure you’re ready for it though—the killing, I mean?”

Catra paused mid-pushup but quickly recovered. “Like I said, I’ve always hated him.”

“Yeah, but have you ever killed anyone before?”

“Not directly.”

“Catra,” Adora chided, “I’m serious.”

Catra sighed and finally stopped her exercise. She stood up to face Adora. “Look, I know it won’t be easy, but it has to be done and I’m the best candidate. Besides, if I don’t, the kaiju are just gonna keep coming and destroy the whole planet.”

Adora bit her lip but she had to agree. “Okay, just…be safe, okay? If something goes wrong…” Adora paused but realized this may be her only chance to express what she really felt. “I just don’t want to lose you.”

Catra stepped forward and put her hand under Adora’s chin, tilting it upwards. When their eyes met, Catra said, “I promise, you won’t lose me.”

 

Adora snuck through the halls of the Fright Zone, double-checking her mental map of the Fright Zone, making sure she was taking the correct way to Entrapta’s lab. She and Catra had been dropped off at two different parts of the Fright Zone, and they’d decided to go without comms in case Entrapta could hack the signal. Adora had no way of knowing where Catra was or how she was doing, so she forced herself to stay focused on her own mission.

When Adora reached the lab, she opened the door slowly so as not to make any noise. She found Entrapta—her iconic long ponytails trailing down her back—working busily at one of the many computers in the room, murmuring to herself. Adora clicked the safety off her gun and raised it in the air. Still, Entrapta took no notice of the sound.

“Hands up,” Adora barked, eliciting a yell from Entrapta. The woman jumped in the air, her hands shooting in the air before she turned around to face Adora.

“Oh, dear, please don’t shoot me,” Entrapta moaned. Then she muttered, “Security was so much better in my castle.”

“I won’t shoot you as long as you do what I say,” Adora said calmly.

Entrapta nodded emphatically.

“Okay, first I need to know, did you create the Breach for Hordak?”

Entrapta nodded again.

“Alright, now, is there a way you can close it?”

Entrapta nodded.

“Good, that’s all I want you to do. Just close the Breach, and I’ll be out of your…hair.”

Entrapta slowly turned around and began typing on her computer.

“And if you set off any alarms or alert anyone in any way, the first thing I’m doing is shooting you.”

Entrapta paused what she was doing for a second, then seemed to switch gears and continue typing before saying, “Just so you know, this may take a while.”

Adora held in a groan of frustration, and slowly backed up to close the door behind them. She kept her back to it as she watched Entrapta type and wondered how Catra was doing.

She didn’t have to wonder for long, though, as less than fifteen minutes later, Catra’s face popped up on many of Entrapta’s screens.

“Hello, members of the Horde,” Catra said, and Adora suddenly noticed a streak of red across her cheek. “As many of you may know, I’m Catra. You may also know about the various kaiju attacks. As it turns out, well, they’re Hordak’s fault. Luckily, that issue has been taken care of. Unfortunately, Hordak didn’t survive, and as his second-in-command that makes me acting leader of the Horde. As you must realize, this will change a few things around here, but we can work out the finer details later. For now, I look forward to leading us all to a better future. Thank you.”

Catra’s face disappeared and within seconds, Entrapta exclaimed, “It’s done.”

“Thank you,” Adora said, clicking the safety back into place on her gun. Then, without another word, she raced out the door and towards Hordak’s former throne room. Once inside, she was met with the gruesome sight of Hordak’s body lying on the ground, blood pooling from somewhere around his stomach. There was a trail of blood leading to the monitor, where Catra still stood, stock still, the knife on the ground beside her.

“Catra!” Adora exclaimed, rushing towards her. “Are you alright?”

Catra’s face was flushed and she was covered in blood but as she turned around and faced Adora, she grinned. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“I can’t believe it,” Adora breathed, returning Catra’s smile. “We did it. We actually did it.”

Catra slowly started laughing and Adora joined in.

There was more to discuss, of course. Catra being leader of the Horde meant that she likely wouldn’t join the SWR and both sides were still at war. Perhaps they could reach a ceasefire, possibly even a treaty. Maybe, slowly, both sides could begin to work together as they had to defeat the kaiju. But that was all in the future, and in this moment, Adora wanted to take the win. The success she’d just shared with her best friend who she thought she’d lost forever made her feel on top of the world. But there was one thing she had to say.

“Listen, Catra, there’s something I need to say that I should have said sooner, but after what just happened—” Adora stopped when Catra put a finger on her lips.

“Adora, I know,” Catra murmured. “I love you too.”

And then Catra pressed her lips to Adora’s and Adora couldn’t care less what the future held, because she and Catra would face it together.

**Author's Note:**

> The waffle scene was an idea taken from this tumblr post: https://incorrect-she-ra.tumblr.com/post/180823759195/


End file.
